Out on a limb in the far east of Ethiopia, towards the border with Somalia, this city is the country’s main Islamic centre and recognized by Moslems everywhere as the world’s fourth holiest Islamic city. It’s in essentially flat countryside, compared with mountainous mid-Ethiopia, though there is some hilly country nearby – but that’s not why travellers come. Most come just to see Harar, although a few take in neighbouring Dire Dawa, which is quite an important commercial and transport hub.

Harar is lively and relaxed, one of the best places to visit in Southern Ethiopia and set in productive agricultural area whose main products are coffee and khat. Sometimes you might think that the locals have not much to do except chew khat. By contrast, with its delicious full, earthy flavour, is a worldwide export and a mainstay of the economy.

The big draw for travellers is Harar Jugol, the 48-ha walled city within Harar, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here are a seemingly endless labyrinth of winding alleys leading to 83 pubic and private mosques, the largest number clustered together anywhere.

Besides Harar Jugol there are some worthwhile museums, but they tend to be overshadowed by the city’s other unique and atmospheric spectacle – the feeding of the hyenas by the two ‘hyena men’ in specific locations near the city walls. Its origins are uncertain, but possibly to do with a local belief that the animals swallowed evil sprits.